Инглиш / Geographical Position and Natural Resources

Geographical Position and Natural Resources

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. With a total area of approximately 241,930 square kilometres, the UK comprises the whole of the island of Great Britain (which contains England, Scotland and Wales), the northeastern one-sixth of the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland) and many smaller surrounding islands. The UK lies between the North Atlantic and the North Sea, and comes within 35 km of the north-west coast of France, from which it is separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel ("Chunnel") bored beneath the English Channel, now links the UK with France.

Minerals. The UK has relatively limited supplies of economically valuable mineral resources. The once-important extraction of iron ore has decreased to almost nothing. Other important metals include tin, which supplies about half the domestic demand, and zinc. There are adequate supplies of nonmetallic minerals, including sand and gravel, limestone, dolomite, chalk, slate, gypsum, clay and china clay.

Energy. By contrast, the United Kingdom has larger energy resources -including oil, natural gas, and coal - than any other EU member. Primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation.

Coal, the fuel once vital to the British economy, has continued to decrease in importance. The discovery of oil in the North Sea led to the rapid development of its exploitation, and the United Kingdom has become virtually self-sufficient in oil and even an exporter. With an average output of nearly three million barrels per day at the beginning of the 21st century, the country was one of the world’s largest producers. The balance of payments has benefited considerably from oil revenues, and a substantial proportion has been invested abroad to offset diminishing oil income in the future.

Since offshore natural gas supplies from the North Sea began to be available in 1967, the UK has replaced the previously coal-based supplies of town gas. A national network of distribution pipelines has been created.

Nuclear fuel has slightly expanded its contribution to electricity generation, and hydroelectric power contributes a small proportion (mainly in Scotland), but conventional steam power stations provide most of the country’s electricity.

Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from wave power and tidal power, although these have not yet been exploited on a commercial basis.